Kotor and Ulcinj

M. Ramella Gal, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 2 (2017) 153–162 CASE STUDIES ON TWO FORTIFIED CITIES IN MONTENEGRO: KOTOR AND ULCINJ M. RAMELLA GAL SiTI, Polytechnic of Turin, Italy ABstract Kotor and Ulcinj, on Montenegrin coast, both played extremely important defensive roles in the past. Both of ancient origin, they had their moment of major development in the Middle Ages, when they were equipped with walls to defend themselves from both maritime and terrestrial activities. In the Serenissima period the transformations of the defensive structures were implemented in both cities, but Ulcinj ended up being Venetian foundation in 1571 to become a pirate headquarters; Kotor instead, thanks to its strategic geographic position in the bay, remained under the rule of the Venetian Republic until its fall. Today the original defensive structure of both cities has been conserved and enhanced: if Kotor fo- cuses on the conservation of them as a strategic point for the landscape enhancement, Ulcinj leverages its sublime location overlooking the sea to intercept a maritime tourism. Both were selected by the Montenegrin Ministry of Culture for the candidacy to the World Heritage List, participating with Croatia and Italy with a serial site. The international cooperation target is put beside the aim of gaining increased worldwide visibility, definitely promoting the tourist offer but at the same time supporting the aspect of sustainability, par- ticipation and training, creating national and international networks to promote research on the fortified architectures. Keywords: fortified city, Montenegro, sea defence, UNESCO, Venetian defence. 1 INTRODUCTION Kotor and Ulcinj are two towns on the Montenegrin coast, lapped by the Adriatic Sea and characterized by a long and troubled history, which has allowed them to become places of great cultural interest. Because of their position they became fortified cities, surrounded by a boundary wall, defensive ramparts and doors constantly controlled militarily. Today they have become the historical centres of the current cities that gradually are extended outside of the walls. But they are not defined as Montenegrin since long time. In fact, this nation was founded 12 years ago, when it gained independence from Serbia; today it is characterized by a great diversity of people. Their ethnicity, origin, and religion are different, but they are found to be part of a nation that still hardly try to have an internal cohesion. On this basis it is possible to understand how the Montenegro’s heritage is still hardly protected and enhanced. Anyway, today the original defensive structure of both cities has been increasingly conserved and enhanced and there are some maintenance and restoration projects on the historic urban structure within the walls. This paper is part of the Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Defence Sites: Heritage and Future (Defence Heritage 2016) www.witconferences.com © 2017 WIT Press, www.witpress.com ISSN: 2058-8321 (paper format), ISSN: 2058-833X (online), http://www.witpress.com/journals DOI: 10.2495/HA-V1-N2-153-162 154 M. Ramella Gal, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 2 (2017) 2 THE FORTIFIED CITY OF KOTOR Kotor is located in the Kotor Bay, an inlet on the Montenegrin coast, which has always been a geographical area of strategic importance with an exceptional geomorphological conformation; the three mutually connected bays – Herceg Novi, Tivat and Kotor – form one of the most safe natural harbours in the Mediterranean Sea. It is along a coastline of about one hundred kilometres that defines a peculiar landscape characterized by the alternation of water and land where the human component and the natural one intersect, forming a mountain and sea mixed and jagged ensemble. Kotor, placed in the south-eastern part of the bay, at the foot of Mount St Ivan, was the most important outpost of this area. It passed from hand to hand to various population, including the most important one, the Venetians, who maintained it for more than three centuries. Its fortifications are extremely interesting: the defence took place both from the sea and by land, and through the circuit of walls and bastions that climb up the mountain, creating a landscape absolutely charming and impressive [1]. 2.1 History From the historical sources it appears that Kotor has Roman origins, when the settlement was located at an higher altitude than today. The Kotor walls were built over the centuries, from the time of Byzantine rule, and during the 13th and 14th centuries, they were radically renovated and definitely set as a defensive perimeter of the city. Figure 1: View of Kotor, with the fortress of St John on the top and the massive walls all around the city. Source: H. Beaubau, Relation Iournalière du Voyage du Levant [...], 1615, Hellenic Library – Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation. M. Ramella Gal, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 2 (2017) 155 It is in fact from the Middle Ages that the actual definite boundary wall begins to delimit the city. Medieval traces are still visible though the Venetians have heavily modified the system to adapt to new techniques of war. Kotor in fact became a part of the Venetian Republic in 1420. This was particularly significant for the Venetians because of its location (hidden inside the bay) and its strategic geomorphological conformation; the walls defended the attack by sea and by land and the sloping terrain slope allowed to have a prime viewing position of the entire bay. Actually many times it was attacked by enemy populations, especially the Turks, both by land and by sea, always demonstrating their great defensive power [2] (Fig. 1). Some significant works were undertaken by Venetians in particular by the middle of, and especially in the second half of, the 18th century. At that time there were also other big repairs, and the works to build a defence corridor to Gurdic´ were undertaken. The walls were also repaired in 1747, and the works were carried out for 14 months. The Venetians ruled here till 1797. Next, a particularly turbulent period of Kotor, which had a negative impact in the field of architecture and urbanization of the city, came after the fall of Venice, and from the end of the 18th to the early decades of the 20th century, Kotor lived through four foreign occupations: Austrian, Italian and French till it became a country of the Yugoslav state. 2.2 Description The urban layout of the city has a triangular shape due to the geomorphology of the place. It is bordered by two streams: Škurda and Gurdic´. The great defensive wall uses these water- ways as a further element of defence and then climbs up the mountain until it gets to about 260 metres above the city, where the Fortress St Ivan emerges [3] (Fig. 2). Along the wall many bastions and ramparts are present to allow a constant monitoring of the surrounding area. Ramparts and platforms for artillery are connected to each other Figure 2: The illuminated walls of Kotor seen from the bay. 156 M. Ramella Gal, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 2 (2017) Figure 3: The elements summarized in the city map of Kotor. and are called Contarini (14th–15th century), Zen, the Great Battle (1768), Renier (1768), Soranzo, Loredan (15th century), Priuli (1767) and Molin, all names of the Venetian supervi- sors during their service these were built. The ramparts Corner and Valier and the fortification between these ones along the coast were built after the 1667 earthquake; the bastion Corner has been little explored unlike the bastion Valier which has been investigated on several occa- sions. Inside there are the remains of the medieval fortifications as well as those of a door of Romanesque-Gothic style, dating back to the 14th century [4]. On it was done a project of valorization and cleaning of the Serenissima’s symbol: the lion. It is so important that it is found very often in the city: on the buildings, along the walls, on the doors. It is also present on the entrance of the path along the walls; actually today it is possible to follow it and get to the top, from where one can enjoy a breathtaking view of all the bay. The entrance to the city is possible only through a few doors, three of which are original: Porta Marina, Škurda and Gurdic´. The first one allowed the entrance to the city on the water, while the other two were preceded by bridges controlled by stalking on the nearby ramparts. Internally many historic buildings are still recognizable (although some of them have suffered serious damage caused by the strong earthquake of 1979) such as the Clock Tower (17th century), the Rector’s Palace (17th century) and the barracks with corridors and balco- nies which provide access to individual rooms, the Town Hall, the Arsenal, the Bizanti Palace (17th century), the Pima Palace (17th century), and the Grgurina Palace (15th century), and now Maritime Museum. But there are also the religious buildings such as St Lucas’s Church (12th century), St Anna’s Church (12th century), St Mary’s Church (13th century), St Michael’s Church (14th century), Church of Our Lady of Health (16th century) and the impressive Cathedral of Saint Tryphon, with two large facade bell towers (12th century) (Fig. 3). As already said this setting, strongly attributed to the Serenissima, was effective against numerous Turkish attacks for more than three centuries; the Venetians in fact, with their M. Ramella Gal, Int. J. of Herit. Archit., Vol. 1, No. 2 (2017) 157 settlement in Kotor, tried to remodel the defences of the city, rebuilding and reinforcing the wall along 4.3 kilometres into the sea with a maximum height of 20 metres and the thickness ranges from 2 to 16 metres.

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